Review of The Simpsons Guy

I have mixed feelings about this crossover, I loved it the first time I saw it but my enjoyment of it has decreased a bit with each viewing.. I find it a frustrating little special because some parts of it are really smart and self-aware, it has clever inside references to both shows, as well as clever jokes that combine material from both universes - but then there are other scenes that just feel lazy and completely unnecessary, like Family Guy's trademark revolting gory shock humour that you'd normally never see in The Simpsons. Something that bugs me is that the overly-played out story has some of the Simpsons being as nasty and piggish as the Family Guy clan. For how terrible The Simpsons has become these days, and lord knows it has indeed, it still feels like the world that it made is a much more solid and loved one that still has more heart to it than Family Guy could ever hope to have, and I feel like this episode is subtlety one great big slur on The Simpsons more than too much else.. I mean when the hell in the many many seasons of The Simpsons would you ever have the gratuitous and grotesque spectacle that is the car wash sequence? It's just awkward and visually unpleasant to watch on a level that's distinctly Family Guy. In fact the whole thing is geared around Family Guy's style and humour, I get the strong impression that the Simpsons crew had to say no to a lot of the Family Guy team's bad taste jokes, as most of the ones that did make it into the episode just feel too harsh and unpleasant to be in Matt Groaning's world, like when Meg carves Lisa's name on her arm, what Stewie says to Moe during his prank call, stupid disembowelled testicle lines, and when Lisa says "Shut up, Meg." It doesn't sound right at all because the Lisa Simpson we know would never say that to somebody.. There are some good points like the inside references both shows make to each other, and the climactic showdown between a radioactive super Homer and Peter is a visually thrilling and spectacular novelty that obviously had a lot of planning put into it for a brawl...but all said and done, like this very one-sided crossover it's ultimately unnecessary, and I think we'd have all been exactly as happy if it had never happened at all... "Just OK."